Issue #976

by Paul Taylor - Lakes Weekly Bulletin

Why do some Kiwis in other parts of New Zealand seem to hate Queenstown so much? Earlier this month, the NZ Herald ran a story about the population of Queenstown itself potentially hitting the 30,000 mark, which is generally the size needed for an urban area to become a city. Queenstown Lakes District is already there, with 52,400 residents but geographically spread out, so not quite the same.

A quick read of the Facebook comments, and it’s clear lots of people think we live in an absolute ****hole - an “horrendous monstrosity”, “NZ’s version of Benidorm”, a “toffee town full of toffee noses”, a “beautiful place destroyed by greed”, and a “retail eyesore, plonked amongst all that natural beauty”. One guy, Scott Dixon, says: “Queenstown is awful! It used to be a nice small town that was pleasant to visit. Now it’s the Auckland of the South Island.” That’s been liked by 285 people. While there are plenty of people defending Queenstown too, the majority seem to agree it’s an expensive tourist trap.

You could claim this animosity towards Queenstown is a case of tall poppy syndrome, but I think it’s more to do with a revulsion toward change. Some people just can’t accept that the world they grew up in no longer exists. Places that are popular grow and develop.

The trick is to manage that growth, so not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Fast-Track might make that harder, but I think Queenstown has done a pretty good job so far. Yes, Five Mile and Remarkables Park are probably not winning many architectural awards, and the housing is pretty ad-hoc urban sprawl, but it’s hardly Calcutta. It’s busier and more urban than other alpine towns, but it also has a buzz and maintains a strong community - you only have to look at the winners and finalists of Spirit of the Wakatipu awards, or the work of various other community groups.

As for population, according to the NZ Stats we missed the city-size mark, with 27,700 residents. We will continue to grow though, you can bet your mortgage on that. And that growth will create pressures, especially if Central Government doesn’t provide more direct funding for infrastructure. We need three new road bridges at my count - one in Arthurs Point, one on Ladies Mile and, incredibly, one at Kawarau Falls, as that new bridge will be at rush-hour capacity in two years. We also need three waters funding, a second high school and a better hospital.

But as one of the tourists trapped (15 years and counting), I reckon the majority of people who live here believe it’s still one of the best places in the world - just look out of the window or hit the trails.